Man U

4-3-3: Manchester United’s most lethal XI vs City with a surprise starter and a big decision at the back

n_manchester_united_united_vs_city-3728849

Massive

Who would have thought it? With Manchester City losing at Crystal Palace on Monday night, Manchester United can now go four points clear their rivals with a win at Old Trafford on Sunday (Kick Off 16:00 Local time).

This is only the second time since Sir Alex stepped aside, two years ago, that Manchester United have been ahead of their rivals in the table. We all expected a bit of turbulence while the new management got it right. But few could have imagined how long the transition would take.

READ ALSO: Martin Samuel says United will win the title with this signing

SEE: Graphic Analysis of why United perform best against the big boys

But now Manchester United finally look the real deal again and we might even call them slight favourites for this one. After some humiliating results in this fixture over the last few seasons, how United would love to turn the screw on the champions in this game.

It’s been ages since we have talked of a settled side at Manchester United. But that is precisely what we have and it would take a fool to make wholesale changes for this one.

The only two areas of contention are in the centre of defence and on the left wing. At the back Chris Smalling had been playing his best football of the season until he fell ill. And, in his place, Marcos Rojo was excellent against Villa.

But, if fit, we think that Louis will go with the extra height and pace of Smalling.

It’s on the left where we would like to see a change. Ashley Young has confounded the critics with some superb performances of late. But if you want real penetration and not a little fairy dust, then Di Maria is your man. He may still be finding his form but there is only one way for him to do that – to start him.

On form it may be seen as something of a surprise, but with 10 assists to Young’s 1, we think that Di Maria looked sharp when he came on against Villa and deserves to start.

So here’s our XI. Manchester United fans: who would you start?
united city

25 Comments

25 Comments

  1. Tim

    Apr 8, 2015 at 12:17 am

    I think that this should be the starting 11
    GK: David De Gea
    LB: Marcos Rojo
    CB: Chris Smalling
    CB: Phil Jones
    RB: Rafael Da Silva
    CM: Ander Hererra
    CM: Micheal Carrick
    CM: Marouane Fellaini
    LW: Angel Di Maria
    ST: Wayne Rooney
    RW: Juan Mata

    • KayDee

      Apr 8, 2015 at 9:08 am

      No Blind? No Valencia? … clearly not been watching of late… FAIL.

  2. Rodney

    Apr 8, 2015 at 12:52 am

    So nobody is up for bringing in Falcao for Fellaini and sticking Rooney in the hole at #10?

  3. Dalton

    Apr 8, 2015 at 7:30 am

    De Gea,Blind,Jones,Smalling,Valencia,Andears,Carrick,Fellain,Young,Mata,Rooney

  4. Jescopholy

    Apr 8, 2015 at 8:02 am

    De gea Blind Jones/Rojo smalling Valencia Herrera Carrick Fellaini Mata Rooney Di maria

    • Benson Joh n

      Apr 8, 2015 at 9:59 am

      1. De gea 2. Valencia 3. Blind 4. smalling 5. Rojo 6. Carrick 7. Mata
      8. Herrera 9. Rooney 10. Fellaini 11. Di maria

  5. Katuajnr

    Apr 8, 2015 at 8:11 am

    Where are mcnair and wilson?

  6. Sammy

    Apr 8, 2015 at 8:12 am

    GK-DA GEA RB-VALENCIA CB-SMALLING CB-ROJO LB-BLIND RW-MATA DM-CARRICK CM-HARRERA LW-DI MARIA ATM-FELLAIN CF-WAZZA

  7. trust

    Apr 8, 2015 at 8:52 am

    de gea,valencia,young,smalling,jones,carrick,blind,herrera,di maria,mata,rooney.

  8. Kelechi

    Apr 8, 2015 at 8:52 am

    I think this will be the best formation to use
    1 de gea
    2 valencia
    3 blind
    4 rojo
    5 jones
    6 carrick
    7 fellani
    8 herrera
    9 di maria
    10 rooney
    11 falcao

  9. KayDee

    Apr 8, 2015 at 9:18 am

    I’d swap Jones for Rojo and that’s it… solid all through. Maybe start with Youngie and bring on Di Maria’s pace as City’s old foggies start to tire. .. 🙂

    • Dyego lawrence

      Apr 8, 2015 at 9:52 am

      (Gk) De Gea, (DF) Rafael, Smalling, Rojo, Blind, (DMF) Carrick, Fellaini, (AMF)Herrera, Di Maria, Valencia, (ST) Rooney. Formation 4-2-3-1

    • Coded

      Apr 8, 2015 at 4:46 pm

      @kaydee…Thank you bruh… Exactly wat i’ld love to see, we dont really need maria to start.. he flops weneva he doea anyways

  10. Anand Singh Madan

    Apr 8, 2015 at 9:34 am

    Ge Dea, Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Blind, Carrick, Herrera, Fellaini, Mata, Rooney, Young

  11. mandor

    Apr 8, 2015 at 10:01 am

    i do go for; DE GEA. VALENCIA. SMALLING. ROJO. BLIND. CARRICK. YOUNG. FELAINI. HERERA. DIMARIA. ROONY. Mata can cum 4rm bench

  12. Sylvester stanley

    Apr 8, 2015 at 10:06 am

    This is the best xi man utd should use de gea,velencia,smalling,jones,blind,carrick,herrera,mata,fellaini,di maria,rooney.

  13. psalmy

    Apr 8, 2015 at 10:23 am

    Just. Continue. With. Wining team! No need of. Changin d winin team. De gea, valencia, jones smalling/rojo, blind, herrera, carrick, mata, fellani, young, rooney. (Sub) vales, rafael, shaw, di maria, falcao, januzaj.

  14. adewale

    Apr 8, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    nice one. all I pray for is 3 point.

  15. patosky77

    Apr 8, 2015 at 2:33 pm

    Lets go wit d winning team please.nothing more nothing less

  16. selemon

    Apr 8, 2015 at 3:42 pm

    DDG

    valencia smaling rojo blind

    karreck

    phelani herrera

    mata falcao Rooney (c)

    i’m sure this formation is evola for man city
    key player in this mache is michael karreck
    i love man red
    good luke for my team manchester united
    in my prediction
    man utd Vs man city
    3 2
    rooney (p) t.yaya
    mata v.campani
    dimarea

  17. mekonnen

    Apr 8, 2015 at 4:50 pm

    Here are my best x¡ against z noise
    Dgea Blind Jons Rojo Rafail
    charic Herera Mata Dimaria Ronye Falkaw

  18. alex kollie

    Apr 8, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    just continue with the winning team pls Mr LVG which is de gea valencia jones smalling blind herrera carrick fallani young rooney mata. sub vales rafael rojo di maria falcao

  19. Harris Alumela

    Apr 8, 2015 at 5:48 pm

    Man u 4eva

  20. febian igwe

    Apr 8, 2015 at 6:35 pm

    For me i would go lik dis de gea,blind,smalling,rojo,valencia,
    mata herera,carick,young
    fellani,rooney.formation 4,2,3,1 wish my lovly club good luck 3 point al de way.

  21. salia sonie

    Apr 12, 2015 at 9:23 am

    The team isn’t bad. But start Rojo instead of Jones.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Soccersweep is a site dedicated to the beautiful game. We may not always be right, but we aim to offer integrity and insight, reflecting on the modern game in all its glory, greed and grandeur.

92 Languages!

Contact

Copyright © 2016 Soccersweep. Soccersweep is based in Clapham South, London, UK.

To Top